约拿书 3
1 耶和华的话二次临到约拿说：
Then Yahweh said to Jonah again,
2 “你起来！往尼尼微大城去，向其中的居民宣告我所吩咐你的话。”
“Go to that great city of Nineveh, and tell them the message that I gave you [previously].”
3 约拿便照耶和华的话起来，往尼尼微去。这尼尼微是极大的城，有三日的路程。
So [this time] Jonah obeyed Yahweh, and he went to Nineveh. That city was so big that a person [had to walk] for three days to completely [go through] it.
4 约拿进城走了一日，宣告说：“再等四十日，尼尼微必倾覆了！”
On the first day [after] Jonah [arrived], he [began walking] through the city. He was proclaiming (OR, At the end of that day he started proclaiming) to the people, “Forty days from now, Nineveh will be destroyed {[God] will destroy Nineveh}!”
5 尼尼微人信服 神，便宣告禁食，从最大的到至小的都穿麻衣。
The people of Nineveh believed God’s [message]. They [all] decided that everyone should begin (fasting/abstaining from food). So [everyone], including important people and unimportant people, [did that]. They [also] put on coarse cloth, [to show that they were sorry for having sinned].
6 这信息传到尼尼微王的耳中，他就下了宝座，脱下朝服，披上麻布，坐在灰中。
The King of Nineveh heard [what the people were doing]. [So] he took off his royal robes, and [he also] put on coarse cloth. He left his palace, and sat down where there were [cold] ashes, [to show that he also was sorry for having sinned].
7 他又使人遍告尼尼微通城，说：“王和大臣有令，人不可尝什么，牲畜、牛羊不可吃草，也不可喝水。
Then he sent messengers to proclaim to [the people in] Nineveh: “My advisors and I have decreed that no one may eat or drink anything. Do not even allow your animals to eat or drink.
8 人与牲畜都当披上麻布；人要切切求告 神。各人回头离开所行的恶道，丢弃手中的强暴。
Instead, every person must put on coarse cloth. [Put coarse cloth on] your animals, [too]. Then everyone must pray fervently to God. And everyone must stop doing evil actions/things, and stop acting violently [toward others].
9 或者 神转意后悔，不发烈怒，使我们不致灭亡，也未可知。”
Perhaps, [if everyone does that], God may change his mind and be merciful [to us], and stop being very angry with us, with the result that we will not die.”
10 于是 神察看他们的行为，见他们离开恶道，他就后悔，不把所说的灾祸降与他们了。
When they [all did that], God saw what they were doing, and he saw that they had stopped doing evil things. So [he pitied them, and] he did not get rid of them as he had threatened to do.
